Book Review

Uninvited Jalal

Marjan Mehdipour
Translated by Mandana Karimi

2025-3-20

One way to better understand influential figures in contemporary history is to delve into their notes. Jalal Al-Ahmad is an intellectual writer who has influenced the political and social intellectual movements of Iran with his works.

The book Jalal-e Nakhandeh (Uninvited Jalal) is written by Gholamreza Khaki, which is based on Jalal's unpublished diaries.

In an interview with "Mohammad Hossein Danaei", Jalal's nephew, and by examining 3,000 of his unpublished diaries, the author wrote about the two books Gharbzadegi (Westoxification) and Dar Khedmat va khianat-e Roshanfekran (In the Service and Betrayal of the Intellectuals). These notes show "the course of formation of these two works" in Al-Ahmad's thoughts.

The back cover of the book states that the author: “To explore Jalal’s notes, he has used an analytical memoir approach for the purpose of intellectual historiography.”

At the beginning of the book, Jalal’s first diary entry is included. After the publisher’s note, the author discusses the main purpose and necessity of writing the book in the preface and explains the main sources of this research.

The book has four chapters. The first chapter, after the introduction, deals with the historical origins of intellectual leapfrogging or intellectualism in the world. Then, it turns to Iran and talks about the seekers of the causes of backwardness in Iran. This chapter discusses the following: Iranian discourses for understanding the nature of culture, intellectuals seeking to understand the secret of backwardness, the shadow of leftism on the attitude of Iranian intellectuals, the challenge between justice and freedom, and Iran’s entry into the new world.

Then, he says that he is one of the first sparks and pioneers of Western criticism. He introduces “Ahmad Fardid” as the first person to coin the term “Gharbzadegi (Westoxification)” and that after that, Al-Ahmad entered the field of identity thinkers.

The second chapter or part of the book is “An Investigation into the Book of Gharbzadegi (Westoxification).”

The author proceeds in this chapter of the book by posing questions and answers. Questions such as where is the West in Jalal’s view? Where is the trace of the issue of Gharbzadegi (Westoxification) in Jalal’s thinking? And why was Jalal so sensitive to the West?

Mohammad Hossein Danaei answers these questions based on the notes he has from Jalal Al-Ahmad. At the end of this chapter, there is also an image of Jalal’s handwritten copy of Gharbzadegi (Westoxification).

The third chapter of the book, titled “Hesitation in the Book Dar Khedmat va khianat-e Roshanfekran (In the Service and Betrayal of the Intellectuals), follows the question-and-answer method, as in the previous two chapters. And asks Mohammad Hossein Danai about the content connection between the two books.

The questions in this chapter are mostly about the role of Jalal Al-Ahmad's social and political thinking: how did he obtain the ideas and contents of the book? And with whom did he consult? When did he use Imam Khomeini's speeches in the book of intellectuals? What was the reaction of SAVAK and the security institutions? And...

The author has made a short summary at the end of this chapter.

Chapter four includes three appendices. An exploration of Jalal's existential dimensions, some of Jalal Al-Ahmad's daily notes, and In the Temple of Technology (a reflection on Al-Ahmad's views on technology)

Also, at the end of the book, the sources and notes are listed, and the index of people is also a useful guide for researchers following the sources.

In addition to new and first-hand information based on Jalal Al-Ahmad's unpublished notes, Jalal-e Nakhandeh (Uninvited Jalal) provides the reader with valuable information in the footnotes of each page.

This book was published and marketed by Hamrokh Publishing in 1402 (2023) with 303 pages and a price of 210 thousand Tomans.